


Expectations

by NotEvenThat



Series: Canon Based Fics [7]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Catarina's POV, Episode: s03e02 The Powers That Be, M/M, Magnus Bane & Catarina Loss Friendship, Past Magnus Bane/Camille Belcourt, Past Suicidal Thoughts, Ragnor Fell's Death Mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 02:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14126331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotEvenThat/pseuds/NotEvenThat
Summary: As Catarina and Madzie walked into the party and her eyes settled on Magnus, she found herself thinking that maybe she had underestimated Alec Lightwood’s presence in Magnus’ life.





	Expectations

**Author's Note:**

> I always try not to fall into the trap of only considering Magnus' storyline in connection to Alec but in this case, I really think Alec's presence has a lot to do with how Magnus deals with it. 
> 
> Magnus has lost a lot and I truly think Alec has helped Magnus get through it, even if he doesn't realize.

Catarina was half expecting Magnus not to show up. She’d been there through almost all of Magnus’ crises and the key element through every one of them was avoiding his problems and drinking himself into oblivion. Occasionally, he’d find himself in vengeful mood and he’d seek lighthearted revenge on those who had wronged him.

This didn’t appear to be one of those times. Being the High Warlock of Brooklyn had been one of the most important things in Magnus’ life. He’d been offered the position shortly after everything with Camille had happened and Cat could still remember Ragnor, Raphael and her taking shifts staying with him when he was at his worse because they were all scared that if he found himself alone, he would do something unthinkable.

Then, the council offered the position to Magnus with an almost unanimous vote. They’d all seen how he handed the vampire crisis in New York. The few that voted against him recalled the antics he’d pulled in Peru and the incident in Spain but even those few didn’t find themselves too upset when he’d been given the position anyway.

Even those who were against him found it hard to argue that he seemed to be the best candidate. He was free spirited and made decisions that ruffled quite a few feathers but he cared for his people above all else. Being given the title of High Warlock only officiated the care he'd held for his people before.

They had all just begin to think that Magnus would never truly find himself again, that somehow Camille Belcourt had irreversibly ruined the person Magnus had been before, when he’d been given the position.

There were very few things that she imagined would have been able to rectify the situation but being offered that position was one of them. Overnight, it was like Magnus had found his purpose again. At the time, she remembered thinking that he was still avoiding his problems and that he was going to burn himself out by throwing every waking minute he had into this job but even that was better than seeing Magnus Bane wallowing.

That title had been the thing that brought Magnus back to life again. It had been the thing that pulled him off of the edge. It had been the thing that made him see what he wanted to give to the world again. It had been his purpose and for a long time, it had been his reason for living.

Now that, along with so many other things that had been taken from them recently, was gone and she and Raphael alone were left to pick up the pieces and make sure that Magnus was okay. He still hadn’t dealt with Ragnor’s death and the second Catarina had heard of his demotion, she’d been terrified that this was the thing that was going to push Magnus over the edge again.

Though, as she and Madzie walked into the party and her eyes settled on Magnus, she found herself thinking that maybe she had underestimated Alec Lightwood’s presence in Magnus’ life. She found herself wondering if perhaps her worry was for nothing.

The fact that Magnus was even there spoke volumes to the effect Alec had on him. Catarina would have been willing to bet money that Magnus wouldn't show up. She wasn’t sure if she would, had she been in his position and yet, he was there. His hand was clasped in Alec’s. Alec murmured something to him and Magnus’s face lite up with a genuine smile that Caterina found more surprising than the fact that he was there at all.

For not the first time, she found herself thinking that maybe she and Raphael were not alone in their protection of Magnus Bane. Perhaps, someone else had joined them without her noticing.

Madzie’s hand slipped out of hers and she had only a second to wonder what had caught her attention when she darted across the room and yelled the shadowhunter’s name. Magnus was all she had worried about for hours but when their eyes met with a silent quirk of the lips, something in her chest eased and every thought she had of a broke version of Magnus from so long ago disappeared.

Magnus was undoubtedly a strong person, one of the strongest she’d ever met. She had no doubt that he would have fine without Alec, eventually. Even so, she couldn’t help but think that he wouldn’t look so at easy, certainly not this early after his demotion, not standing in his successor's house, if it hadn’t been for the shadowhunter next to him.

Catarina's mouth flickered in a surprisingly genuine smile. “I can’t believe you brought him just to piss Lorenzo off.” 

They both knew that nothing could be farther from the truth. Catarina was sure that pissing him off has been an added bonus but Magnus had brought Alec far more for his own well being than for any mischief, though there was no need to draw any attention to that fact.

“No-" Magnus scoffed lightheartedly. "I brought him because he’s my boyfriend.” He raised his glass as if to hide the smile peaking through his lips. Something familiar flickered in his eyes as he looked to Alec, something that reminded Catarina of how he’d looked at Camille, far before any of her rot had gotten to him.

When Catarina had first heard of Magnus’ interest in this shadowhunter, she’d thought that he had been throwing himself into a bad decision intentionally. She thought that he was rebounding, decades after the fact and even if she’d thought that nothing good could come from Magnus’ interest in him, she was happy that he was coming alive again, that he was finally showing some sign of his heart thawing in the wake of Camille’s destruction.

She watched as Alec kneeled on the ground in front of Madzie and for the first time, she found herself reconsidering how she’d viewed their relationship. Perhaps, Alec wasn’t a rebound. Maybe, he wasn’t a bad decision.

Magnus had certainly made far more than enough of them. He was long due for something truly good and Catarina found herself hoping that Alexander was it.

**Author's Note:**

> Come follow me on 'facialteeth' if you want. I'm basically a shadowhunters blog now anyway.


End file.
